FOLLOW US

Strategic Communication

The CMAA World Conference is happening now! Private Clubs Online (and yours truly) will be in booth #1760. Are you planning to attend the Business Expo? I hope so! Private Clubs Online will be known as THE FUN BOOTH! The sparkly curtain you see in the booth picture is the backdrop for the PHOTO BOOTH! Grab a prop and strike a pose and then share your photos online. Fun!

I’m super excited to welcome the month of March. Not only does yours truly celebrate a birthday this month, but many of my friends and even my dear father turn a year older. In Dad’s case, he’s celebrating 70 on St. Patrick’s Day. Yay Dad!

In today’s Mini Web (March 1st), we discussed a different kind of celebration – the fun and popular “holidays,” like the upcoming National Puppy Day. As one participant reported, “it inspired a lot of ideas” for how to share these holidays on social media and also easily implement new events and activities. These festive events have become popular online. You’ll often see things like #DeepDishPizzaDay trending on Twitter or other channels. It is highly probable that your members are posting and sharing pictures in connection with these trends. It is an easy way for the club to connect with members on these fun topics.

Also, it can help you spice up your member event calendar. You might be searching for low-cost ideas to pepper in between larger events and member traditions. Many of the holidays are tailor-made for private clubs. It is simple to create food & beverage offerings and encourage members to dine or enjoy a cocktail at the club. In other words, the national “holidays” provide low-risk opportunities for revenue generation.

Two month-of-March themes which stood out to me, among many awareness themes, were Women’s History Month and Employee Spirit Month. With International Women’s Day on the 8th, I hope you’ve already planned a luncheon or a speaker series. Perhaps Employee Spirit Month will inspire you to plan a team building session with the heart and back of the house. It’s never too early or late in the year to boost morale internally!

Below are some of the other days you may want to plan around. Remember, even a simple social media post signals your members that you are connected and on trend with what’s happening in the world. In the event you do not have programs in place, I’ve made some suggestions for what you can do to celebrate with short lead time.

March “Holidays”
8 – International Women’s Day – Happy hour with local, prominent women in the community as special guests. Create a special lunch or cocktail menu, highlighting names of women in history. Provide discounts on F&B.
12 – Alfred Hitchcock Day – Show a classic Hitchcock movie on the screen in the bar, or in a larger room suitable for screening. Serve up Hitchcock themed cocktails in the bar.
14 – National Pi Day (3.14) – Create a special menu with all items priced at $3.14.
20 – First Day of Spring + International Day of Happiness – Implement a “Random Acts of Happiness” campaign within the club.
22 – World Water Day – Speaker for breakfast or lunch.
23 – National Puppy Day + National Chips and Dips Day – Plan a “Yappy Hour” and allow members to bring their pups to the club. Serve dog treats and plan for some contests. For Chips and Dips plan a cooking class or a pop-up demo in the lounge. Or serve complimentary chips and dips in the bar for tasting and fun.
25 – International Waffle Day – Waffles for breakfast! You get a waffle, and you get a waffle, and you…

The best way to find these holidays is simple to Google “fun national holidays.” There are several resources to choose from. Cross check two or three to find the most legitimate. For strictly food & beverage holidays, visit www.foodimentary.com.

There is no obligation to plan for all or any one specific holiday. You should pick what fits for your club culture, your member personality. What will your members enjoy?

What holidays have you taken advantage of at your club? What holiday would you like to plan an event for? Send me an email, or better yet, share your idea with me on Facebook so that we can all benefit from your experience. I would love to hear from you!

If your club is not using a social media content plan, there is a distinct possibility that you are creating social media posts on the fly. When that happens, we tend to lose sight of our member communication goals. So how can you implement a mini-strategy for each post? Read More

The Private Clubs Online Group Coaching Programs are now in session! I look forward to welcoming your club into the Essential or Dynamic Coaching Program. Read on to learn more about what the Group Coaching Programs include!

During my preparation for a webinar with the PCMA, I captured many examples of how private clubs are posting information online. I wanted to share these three examples with you because while these clubs are making a great effort in the social space, there is room for improvement with these specific posts. These examples are being shared with you so that we can learn to maximize every post – make it as engaging as possible, provide all of the information and add value for the members. Read More

Private clubs and country clubs exist because of members. We develop member communication to keep members active in the club and so that we may retain our members. As private club professionals, we have an opportunity to maximize our member communication, to have our messaging work to achieve club goals. That’s when strategy is needed. Read More

RECENT POSTS

Visit Shanna’s Other Sites

TESTIMONIALS

Shanna encouraged our Private Events department to pay attention to Pinterest and focus our efforts on this channel. We followed her advice and not but 6 months later, we booked our first Pinterest-referred wedding. We use our Pinterest account before/during bridal appointments. Super effective.

K.K. in CA

The social media seminars (Shanna provided for our members) are such a great opportunity to add value for the members!

M.P. in CA

We have all benefited from Shanna's instruction and advice, and the Members are certainly interacting more with the Club, which is translating into more frequent Club visits and spending.

S.V. in CA

Shanna has been instrumental in better coordinating our communication across our newsletters, e-mails and social channels.

L.A. in CA

"Our club now has a community of more than 2500 engaged members, friends and potential members on Facebook. Shanna's strategies work. "